14 DAY TRIAL // Recent research found that erectile dysfunctions usually found amongst older men can also affect young ones. Dr. Najah S. Musacchio, lead researcher, doctor at the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and her colleagues conducted a small survey on college-aged men, wondering if these dysfunctions pose an issue to them.
The questionnaire was aimed at sexually active men aged 18 to 25 from 3 Chicago universities. It was shown that 13%, 30 men out of the 234 questioned, had erectile dysfunctions, while 25% lost an erection while putting on a condom and 6% used Viagra, Cialis or Levitra against this problem.
"We asked men about erectile dysfunction when using a condom, and 25% said they lost an erection while putting on a condom. These men were 4 times less likely to use condoms consistently, and 5 times more likely to have 6 or more sex partners in the last year," Musacchio stated. This is a health issue because not using a condom increases the probability of sexually transmitted diseases.
Dr. Irwin Goldstein, an urologist specializing in sexual medicine from Boston, said more young men are having this problem than we might think, about 20 to 25%. The number might be higher if these males use alcohol, he said.
"Most of these men, (64%) mixed medications like Viagra with alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy," Musacchio mentioned.
"Those drugs increase your sex drive, reduce your inhibitions, but may make you less likely to sexually perform. When people mix those drugs with Viagra, they may be able to have sex when they couldn't normally do so. This is of concern for transmission of diseases and unwanted pregnancies."
While this data is not enough for a conclusion, they suggest that erectile dysfunction is not unique to middle-aged and elderly men and that also young men are affected by these problems, but they are not usually seeking medical advice or treatment.